Well, I turned out to be "one of those" ha. Decided to lay off tri training, indefinitely. After the Ironman I had to deal with the normal mental burnout (physically I was fine within days), then I got sick, and getting sick exacerbated dizziness issues that I already have (which don't keep me from doing anything physical regularly but when I get these "flare-ups" I have trouble walking, sitting, laying, and I couldn't bike or run or work out for weeks until it went back to "normal" (which it has this past week). So I've been sick/dizzy pretty much from early July until last week.

Just couldn't get back into the training after the Ironman. I don't know if it would have been different if I hadn't gotten sick and dizzy. Just too much at once

My work is having an eight week fitness contest to see who can get the most steps/workout minutes so I'll be doing that taking a bunch of classes on the gym. After the eight weeks are over I'm going to focus on writing my book which is the journey from dad dying to losing weight to the Ironman and beyond and everything in-between. I may even just lay off working out altogether while I write the book just getting the "normal" 3-4 hours of activity a week to remain fit and healthy.

I signed up for a 40-mile bike ride to celebrate five years of a local bike group, that's next week Sunday. Plan to do more of those social rides, and here's my list for 2014:

- RTC Viva Bike Vegas Century (August-October)
- Sign up in January for the 2015 Disney Goofy (10K Friday, HM Saturday, Marathon Sunday (and I'll add a 5K Thursday, might as well)), will start training around June (and I plan to train myself).
- Will renew my tri club membership and do their free Sprint Tris, they put on a beer 5K, and may try their Sprint trail tri if I'm brave enough
- Plan to train myself for an 8K swim that's around September each year here in town
- Going to do an 18-mile hike with a friend, and we're gonna start with shorter hikes and build up.
- Midnight marathon through Area 51
- Still doing Irongirl every year (doing it Oct 19th, an Olympic), Sprint and Olympic, whichever they offer.
- Whitewater rafting (bucket list, just once)
- Motorcycle riding course through the university (same as above)
- Paragliding (same as above)
- Scuba diving (same as above)
- Want to go out Kayaking for a couple of hours in 2014 and paddleboarding a couple of times.
- I want to do 100 mile race within the next three years, so gonna start just running and build up gradually, not in a hurry. I think I may just run for fun and focus on just building my running.

The hike, RTC and Disney are the biggies. I'll be doing all the training myself through just online plans and the experience I've had in training plans this past year. Now I have the freedom to drop in on a Sunday morning with a running group or do that bike ride I signed up for.

But I really think after four years of tons of working out I may just jog for 30-60 mins three times a week and just spend all my energy on the book for a couple of months after the eight week work competition.

Spend more time with family, go to a concert, an art show, just hang out. Tris will always be there I'm not saying I'm quitting, though, just doing other stuff for a while. I LOVED the whole Ironman experience and I still love tris and the lifestyle and I love SBR and I would be open to do another Ironman one day. It was a wonderful experience and life-changing and I wouldn't have changed the past two years for anything.

You know what's funny, for me, crossing the finish line was just the beginning of becoming an Ironman. I think that just gives you the mold that you then have to grow into. I know I didn't want to even look at the medal after and I felt NO sense of accomplishment and while I wanted to do the race again, I didn't want to be an Ironman. It wasn't until two months later that I started "feeling" something when I touched the medal, and started getting that sense of accomplishment. Mind you, the race wasn't traumatic and I loved every single second of it.

Now it's like hell yeah I did it and nobody can ever take that away from me

With information I'm more of a I like to know a little bit of everything instead of a lot of one thing, and it seems to be the same when it comes to physical stuff, there's just too much cool stuff out there to try, so I think I'll always be that kind of person looking for the next thing.

That's one heck of a bucket list....and only for one year. Wow! I wouldn't feel bad about "one and done". IM will still be there if you ever start to miss it. (Bwa-ha-ha-ha.) I wouldn't feel guilty about 8 weeks or whatever. I'd probably still be on the couch, or quite possibly still lying where I fell after crossing the finish line. I'm taking a de-facto break from tri now as there aren't any fall or winter races that I can do, logistically. It's amazing how good running feels when you're not tired from full-on tri training. But not planning any 100-milers. All I can say is....wow! It's quite a goal. I guess I'm lazy--anything longer than a workday doesn't really appeal to me.

BTW I think it's harder to hike 18 miles than run that far. I've done 20-25 mile hikes with some crazies on a club I used to belong to in Portland. That's a lot of time on your feet. It's a different animal from either a typical day hike or a marathon. You might find that trail running shoes work better than hiking boots, especially for a lighter woman. The boots are just too stiff and your feet can get really fatigued and swollen--I've actually gotten edema (not blisters) on the soles of my feet after a 25 mile hike. Ouch. OTOH it is a great experience, almost like a long meditation, once you get past the physical aspect of it. Maybe a bit like an IM?

Well four of those are one and done deals from the get go And they're fairly short to accomplish. Disney isn't until 2015. RTC and the 8K swim are late in the year. So the hike is the only thing that I'm going to start on as soon as it starts getting warmer next year. And the Area 51 marathon isn't until August. The tri club sprint tris will just be show up and have a party with friends :D I think mostly I want spontaneity back in my life for a bit. If there's a social ride or run going on I want to go if I feel like it, not have to say no because Thursday is a run day. Or not having dinner with family because I have to be in bed by seven to wake up by three to be out by four to be there by five to start by six for an eight hour training day.

Congratulations on finishing IMCdA. You are right, nobody can take that away from you unless you are willing to give it up. (Please don't give it up either).

One & Done? No need to apologize or make excuses. We each have our own life to live, and it isn't my place to second guess your decisions. Triathlon isn't for everyone (if it were, we'd have 288 million people here in the US doing them). Imagine T1! You have some bona fide plans for your life.

Congratulations on finishing IMCdA. You are right, nobody can take that away from you unless you are willing to give it up. (Please don't give it up either).

One & Done? No need to apologize or make excuses. We each have our own life to live, and it isn't my place to second guess your decisions. Triathlon isn't for everyone (if it were, we'd have 288 million people here in the US doing them). Imagine T1! You have some bona fide plans for your life.

Originally posted by McFuzzDeb,Congratulations on finishing IMCdA. You are right, nobody can take that away from you unless you are willing to give it up. (Please don't give it up either). One & Done? No need to apologize or make excuses. We each have our own life to live, and it isn't my place to second guess your decisions. Triathlon isn't for everyone (if it were, we'd have 288 million people here in the US doing them). Imagine T1! You have some bona fide plans for your life.

. Well said! Nothing wrong with one and done. It is actually a rarity that people do a bunch 5+ of them IME.

Well see the thing is I didn't start triathlons to lose weight or get healthy. I did that previously, and it's a lifestyle for me. I saw a flyer for a tri, thought why not, did it, liked it, and pretty much the Ironman because it was there. I went through the 1.5 year journey WANTING it to change me, and that's why it did.

This is a great thing to have on a bucket list. I did it a few ears ago and then used a bike for my work commute for about 2 years. Feels good to know whenever I am out with freinds and they are all spitballing about which hog, pocket rocket, etc they would have that I know for sure none of them would make it 30 yards!

Originally posted by GatorDeb Well see the thing is I didn't start triathlons to lose weight or get healthy. I did that previously, and it's a lifestyle for me. I saw a flyer for a tri, thought why not, did it, liked it, and pretty much the Ironman because it was there. I went through the 1.5 year journey WANTING it to change me, and that's why it did.

It seems to be that the real goal was to change your lifestyle for the better. IM or even triathlon in general was just one way to help you begin to think differently about your body, what it can do, how to care for it. Along with that goes how you care for your soul. You seemed to have accomplished that in a big way.

You're on a new journey that's really still pretty new. You're motivated, have a big list of new goals. I'm guessing (without really knowing you) that a few years back many of the items on there now would not have made it onto the list.

You've kind of taken life by the balls. Keep doing that, keep experiencing.